State of the Science in Postural Stability Research

Abstract

Postural stability is an emerging area of research. Recently there has been much research investigating the viability, sensitivity, and reliability of metrics of postural stability but among these there has been little justification and agreement. The aim of this paper is to briefly highlight mechanics of postural stability, common study approaches to quantify postural stability, the limitation of these study approaches, and finally propose some possible direction to better understand postural stability. Center of pressure and its associated derivatives, the total body center of mass, and plantar pressure distribution are the primary metrics used to quantify postural stability. There is no consensus in the literature that any of these parameters can predict postural stability. It was determined that the state of the science in postural stability studies is primarily restricted to measurements in a single plane using a force platform. It was also determined that variability in measured data, lack of sensitivity in data, and lack of a multi-factorial approach capable of capturing many parameters influencing postural stability has all contributed to the confusion and subsequent lack of agreement in the literature. To address many of these challenges it is recommended that the role of optimization, the use of Microelectromechanical inertial accelerometers, and the application of more robust solution techniques to solve the inverted pendulum model be deeply explored.